For
many people throughout the world, the Christmas season is the happiest and
busiest time of the year. Millions of
believers in Christ celebrate December 25th as a special religious holiday
because they believe it marks the date of Christ’s birth. Businessmen often take advantage of the giving
of gifts at this season to make an extra profit. Some religious people protest at this
“commercializing” of Christmas because they feel that a sacred, holy day is
desecrated by it. Their protests are
often voiced in slogans such as “Put Christ back into Christmas.” Few people, however, including many believers
in Christ, are aware of the fact that the Bible is completely silent concerning
any special festivities to commemorate the date of Christ’s birth.

The
Bible does not give us the date of the birth of Jesus! Whether He was born in December or July or
some other month of the year is not stated in the Scriptures. Scholars confess that they do not know the
actual date of Christ’s birth. For more
than 300 years following the close of the New Testament, Christmas was kept on
various dates. In 354, the bishop of Rome decreed that December
25th, a pagan feast day in honour of the god, Saturn,
should be observed by Christians in honour of
Christ’s birth. However, in the East,
this date was not accepted; and for centuries, January 6th was celebrated as
the birthday of Jesus, particularly in Egypt. Some branches of the Eastern Orthodox Church,
even today, keep January 6th as Christmas day.

It
is interesting to note also that many of the festivities connected with
Christmas had their origin in paganism, not in the Bible. Many of them came from Catholicism also. For example, the name “Christmas” itself comes
from “Christ” and “Mass” referring to the worship of the Roman Catholic Church.
The Christmas tree originated in Scandinavia. The
pagans of that part of the world worshipped trees before they became believers
in Christ. Decorating with mistletoe
originated with the ancient Celtic priests, called Druids, who used mistletoe
as charms to ward off evil spirits. The
burning of yule logs, which is customary in many
countries, came from the ancient Norsemen who burned a log once a year in honour of Thor, god of Thunder. See the World
BookEncyclopedia for other
examples of the pagan influence in Christmas customs.

The
Bible gives two accounts of the birth of Jesus. They are found in Matthew 1 and 2 and Luke 2. No mention is made of the date. No command is given for our Lord’s birthday to
be observed in any way. No example is
found in the New Testament of any celebration of Christ’s birth. Rather, the New Testament emphasis is on the
death and resurrection of Christ. His
death made possible the forgiveness of our sins. His resurrection makes possible our victory
over death. The Lord’s supper is to “show
the Lord’s death till he come”(I Corinthians 11:26). The only day in any way set aside for special
religious observance in the New Testament is the Lord’s day, Sunday, the first
day of the week (Acts 20:7;1 Corinthians 16:2; Revelation 1:10).

What
should be the Christian’s attitude toward Christmas? Should we celebrate it as Christ’s birthday? Definitely not! To do so is to do such without Scriptural
authority. Should we observe the
Christmas holiday in any way at all? In this writer’s opinion, there is nothing
wrong with enjoying the holiday at Christmas, just as one would enjoy any other
legal holiday during the year. If one
wishes to have a big dinner and get together with family and friends, there is
certainly nothing wrong with this. But
to honour December 25th as Christ’s birthday, and
thus as a special holy day, is to speak where the Scriptures are silent and to
follow the traditions of men rather than the Word of God.